Politics & Government
Hear Those Planes? DOA Begins Spraying for Gypsy Moths in Batavia Area
More than 50,000 acres of land in Kane, DuPage, Will, Jo Daviess and Winnebago counties will be treated in an effort to minimize invasive tree pests.
About 5,000 acres in the area of Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory are scheduled to be treated this week for invasive European Gypsy Moths.
The Illinois Department of Agriculture is again teaming up with the Slow the Spread Foundation and the United States Department of Agriculture to conduct aerial treatments across the state that minimize invasive tree pest impacts, village officials said.
Gypsy moths are native to parts of Europe, Asia and northern Africa, and are capable of feeding on more than 500 different species of trees and plants. As a result, the insect is responsible for millions of acres of defoliation annually, according to state officials.
Find out what's happening in Bataviawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
For the past 30 years, the state of Illinois has conducted annual treatments to control the moth's impact on forests and residential areas.
This Monday through Wednesday, five single-engine, fixed-wing airplanes will apply pheromone, a sexual attractant that disrupts the mating of the destructive moth, to 50,446 acres of land in DuPage, Jo Daviess, Kane, Will and Winnebago counties.
Find out what's happening in Bataviawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
About 4,424 acres of the Fermilab property along with additional acres were scheduled to be sprayed by Tuesday. The approximate treatment area can be viewed on the Department of Agriculture's website, and runs from a point just north of East Wilson Street to as far south as I-88.
For more information, visit www.agr.state.il.us/Environment/Pest/gypsymothinIL.html
